Back in the day, everyone who got a traffic ticket in Westport — or any other citation — had to appear before a judge.
Fortunately, they did not have to to far. We had our own court.
It was in the same building as police headquarters.
It’s long gone. But “Town Court” is still there, etched in marble and facing Jesup Road.
The subject of last week’s Photo Challenge, it evoked memories from attorneys, former police officers and speeders. All had close encounters of the Circuit Court kind.
Other readers, who moved here long after it moved to Norwalk, have noticed (and wondered about) it.
Bob Grant, Adam Starr, Gloria Gouveia, Dave Eason, Fred Cantor, John McCarthy, Art Hayes, Jan Carpenter, Beth Berkowitz, Diane Silfen, Rich Diviney, Dick Alley, Pete Powell, Mary Ann Batsell, Lawrence Zlatkin, Peter Hirst and Cheryl Petrone all answered correctly. They each win a “get out of jail free” card, courtesy of “06880.”
This week’s Photo Challenge is tougher. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.
(Photo/Paul Rohan)
(The Photo Challenge runs every Sunday on “06880.” If you enjoy this — and our many other features — please consider a contribution. Click here — and thank you!)
Westport’s Department of Public Works is always busy.
Their latest project: repairing sink holes.
The photo below shows a pipe separation on Roseville Road that was undermining the sidewalk. DPW cemented around the pipe, then back filled with asphalt.
It’s one of those jobs that can go unnoticed. And we’ll never know what problems they avoided, thanks to vigilance and hard work.
=================================================
A large crowd attended last night’s drag show at MoCA Westport.
The 2nd annual event was family-friendly, and part of Westport Pride’s month-long Pride celebration.
Young drag queen Desmond MCed the event. (Photo/Nikki Gorman)
Jake Thaw was an All-State football and basketball player at Staples High School — and an FCIAC and NFL Foundation Exemplary Scholar Athlete.
The 2020 graduate has continued his success at the University of Michigan, where he’s a 2-time Academic All-Big 10 honoree. On July 2 (6 p.m., Pizza Lyfe, 833 Post Road East), he’ll meet fans, talk about his journey, and discuss the upcoming season.
It’s free — and you don’t have to be a Michigan alum to go. But please click here to register (so the restaurant can plan seating). And attendees are responsible for their own food and drinks.
Jake Thaw
=================================================
We’re used to seeing fishermen on Compo Beach’s South Beach jetty.
But seldom are there as many as Karen Como spotted yesterday.
Robert Giury and Nicole Kelman were honored with “40 Under 40” business awards recently.
Westfair Business Journal cites young businesspeople. Each town in Fairfield and Westchester Counties is represented by the head of their Chamber of Commerce. Matthew Mandell handed out Westport’s honors, at the Point at Norwalk Cove.
Giury is vice president of investments for David Lerner Associates. Kelman is CEO of New England Educational Consultants.
Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce director Matthew Mandell, flanked by Nicole Kelman and Robert Giury.
Devices have been placed at various points downtown.
Results will be posted, when available.
Meanwhile, here’s an early finding: There’s a lot of traffic these days.
Traffic survey device at Post Road East and Myrtle Avenue. (Photo/Sal Liccione)
=================================================
Tragedy was averted at 8:30 p.m. Friday night. A northbound SUV driver on Newtown Turnpike went into the woods. The vehicle caught fire, but he was pulled out by a neighbor.
A nearby resident notes that young children live in the area. “The road is very dangerous, because drivers who use it as a cut-through speed by.”
The Fire and Police Departments, and EMTs, were on the scene. Eversource responded quickly, and replaced the downed power line.
LymanAID — the huge party thanking Westporters for their support of our sister city in Ukraine — has a booth at the Yankee Doodle Fair.
Stop by today and tomorrow to learn about the big event. It’s Sunday, July 9, 1 p.m. until dusk, at the Ukrainian-American Club, Post Road in Southport next to northbound I-95 Exit 19 entrance ramp.
There’s music, food, drinks, and much more. And it’s free — though there will be opportunities to help support Lyman through raffles, a treasure sale, Yankee auction, coffee table book pull, plant sale, “LymanADE” stand and more.
VIP tickets are available too. Click here to register, and for more details.
Katya Wauchope, at the LymanAID booth at the Yankee Doodle Fair.
Davide — the new Church Lane pop-up — is a year-old brand. Its first retail outlet features its second collection ever.
Davide (pronounced dah-vee-day) is the brainchild of Joseph Davide Tacopina. A Westport native (and son of one of President Trump’s attorneys), he attended Cheshire Academy and met students from around the world.
Inspired by his father’s ownership of several Italian soccer clubs, Tacopina’s collection blends “athletic culture” with pieces inspired by Marlon Brando and Lake Como. There is plenty of loose-flowing linen and silk.
The 24-year-old designer is self-taught. He chose Westport as the site of his first pop-up because it’s his home. He hopes to take it global.
Real Estate University — the school for aspiring (and current) real estate professionals, founded in 2005 by Karena Piedmont — has moved from Norwalk to Saugatuck.
The move felt right. She’s already trained scores of Westport realtors over the years. Classes are both in-person and via Zoom.
The address is “Saugatuck Lofts, 101 Franklin Street” — the exposed brick, co-working space in a former grain facility at the Westport Metro-North station, as you take a right at the end of Railroad Place. It’s literally “steps from the train,” for students who travel that way.
“There’s so much synergy here,” Piedmont says. “I share space with real estate attorneys and other professionals. I love being part of a community of like-minded, hard-working small business owners. I wish I moved here years ago.”
“And I love hearing and seeing the trains pass.”
There’s one more bonus: She’s also just a few steps away from “The Benjamin“: the Airbnb she owns at 35 Franklin Avenue.
Saugatuck Lofts
=================================================
Also new: the Westport Weston Family YMCA’s director of gymnastics.
Former USA national team gymnast Bryon Knox brings over 40 years of competition. coaching and program development to his new role.
Most recently, he was head gymnastics coach at Southern Connecticut State University. Before that, he led the University of Bridgeport to 6 straight NCAA Division II national championships.
Byron coached 70 USA Gymnastics/All-Americans, and 150 scholar-athletes. He is a former USA women’s national team coach.
He has been with the Y part-time since October, coaching the competitive girls team and instructing coaches. Click here for more information on the Y’s gymnastics program.
Rob Docters’ new book — “Ethics and Hidden Greed: Your Defense Against Unethical Strategies and Violations of Trust” — answers questions like, “How do we protect ourselves and our business interests from the unethical behaviors of others? Why doesn’t intuition serve as the best guide for detecting unethical strategies?”
The 1975 Staples High School graduate hopes to make people more aware of (and armed against) scams, as well as choosing more ethical choices themselves. (A strong animal rights activist, he covers the brutality of boiling lobsters alive).
Charles McGillion-Moore of Westport helped Norwalk’s Maritime Rowing Club to a national championship in the Men’s Under-15 Coxed Quad, at least weekend’s 28th USRowing Youth National Championship in Sarasota, Florida.
Other top finishes by Westport and Weston rowers include Men’s Youth U-16 Coxed Quad, 4th place (Adam Turner and Matthew Lupinacci); Women’s Youth U-17 Quad, 6th place (Mina Leon); Men’s Youth U-17 Quad, 7th place (Jack Cushman); Women’s Youth U-15 Coxed Quad, 8th place (Syke Coats); Men’s Youth U-16 Coxed Quad, 12th place (Fox Parker), and Men’s Youth U-16 Eight, 18th place (Simon Meyers).
The regatta marked the final high school event for Maritime’s seniors, including Dan Kleeger and Lilly Murphy of Westport, and Justin Sun of Weston.
And finally … on this day in 1994, Los Angeles police chased OJ Simpson’s Ford Bronco for an hour and half. He finally gave up, and was arrested for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
(“06880” is your hyper-local blog — and a non-profit. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
Most weeks, our online art gallery is filled with paintings and photos from around the world.
This week, we’ve got several from our backyard. Compo Beach, downtown and Blau House & Gardens are all represented.
We’ve also got needlework and ceramics — two mediums we don’t see much of here.
Everyone is invited to contribute. Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions.
All genres are encouraged. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage and (yes) needlepoint — whatever you’ve got, email it to 06880blog@gmail.com. Share your work with the world! (PS: Please include the medium you’re working in — art lovers want to know.)
“Summertime” — pencil on paper (Clayton Liotta)
“The Buoys Hanging Out” (Karen Weingarten)
Untitled — Compo Beach (Sunil Hirani)
Diane Yormark created hanging wall planters. Her husband Ken adorned them with vines.
Beth Berkowitz crocheted this baby sweater.
Untitled (Tom Doran)
Untitled (Dorothy Robertshaw)
“Blau House & Gardens” (Mike Hibbard)
“Westport Bridge Over Saugatuck, En Plein Air” — oil on canvas (Cindy Wagner)
“Do Unto Others” (Lawrence Weisman)
“Westerly Library, Afternoon Sun” (Peter Barlow)
“The Sauna” (Steve Stein)
Untitled (Tom Lowrie)
Untitled — lone sea urchin underwater, Greek island of Limnos (Claudia Sherwood Servidio)
“Dune Grasses” (Ken Runkel)
(Entrance is free to our online art gallery. But please consider a donation! Just click here — and thank you!)
Well, it looks like Police Chief Foti Koskinas and I are wrong.
If you looked at this morning’s “06880 On the Go” video, you saw intern Colin Morgeson asking random folks random questions about Westport.
One of them was about the towns that border ours. “Norwalk, Fairfield, Weston, Wilton,” they asserted. Colin nodded, and congratulated them.
At the Farmers’ Market, he happened upon our top cop. Foti added “Easton.”
I was standing nearby. I was surprised, but thought about it. Of course: that stretch of Easton Road just past Catamount led into the corner of Easton where Helen Keller once lived.
So when my turn came, I confidently added “Easton.”
Nope!
As Evan Stein clearly points out, that stretch of Route 136 actually runs through Weston.
Before posting, I did a quick map search. Too quick, as it turns out.
Celebrating Pride Month, with sweaters and laces: Nancy Axthelm’s grandchildren Dylan (8) and Everett and Hudson (2-year-old twins). (Photo/Nancy Axthelm)
Longtime Westporter/amateur historian Fred Cantor was fascinated by a recent “06880” story on the Playhouse Kitchen.
The restaurant operated on the Post Road (State Street), in front of the Westport Country Playhouse, in the 1930s and ’40s. It may have opened earlier, under a different name.
The building still stands. We know it as Winslow Park Animal Hospital.
Fred reached out to Debbie Hooper Fisher, another longtime resident. Her grandparents operated the Playhouse Kitchen. Debbie writes:
My grandparents, Rose and Michael Vigilante, owned this Colonial for many years. It served as a real estate office under Steve Crowley, and is now veterinary practice.
Rose opened the Playhouse Kitchen in a section of her home. It served many actors and actresses, while they performed at the Playhouse.
Rose was a warm, outgoing, energetic and engaged lady. She loved to cook and welcome patrons into her “kitchen.”
Many continued their friendship with Rose well-beyond their performances. One example was Rose O’Neill, famous illustrator, writer and creator of the Kewpie doll. They shared the same name and many other interests, such as flowers.
My mother Rita helped in the Playhouse Kitchen as a young girl. Many of the famous actors’ autographs are addressed to Rita with sweet, endearing comments. She loved meeting them, and they inspired her to participate in plays at Staples when she was older.
A few of the autographs addressed to Debbie’s other Rita.
Robert Lambdin, a well-known Westport artist and illustrator, also befriended Rose. Some of his large murals still hang around town.
My family donated many of his illustrations (gifted to Rose) to the Westport Historical Society. I still have an illustration Robert gave me as a wedding gift, as well as other paintings in my own home in Westport.
My grandmother also offered overnight stays to actors and actresses when they were in town and just starting their careers.
Another interesting note: My grandparents were also close friends of the Baron (Walter Langer van Langendorff, inventor of White Shoulders perfume). As they aged, they decided to sell their home and property to him (the land is now known as Winslow Park).
However, my grandmother missed the house so much she repurchased it back from the Baron (for more than they’d sold it for). Ugh — but she was so very happy to be back “home”!
My grandfather Michael was also very active in his own pursuits, as a builder, sheriff and president of the Sons of Italy. He was responsible for many of the still-standing stone walls throughout Westport, which he and his company built during the Depression.
He also built homes off Bayberry Road. He named the private road after my family (on my father’s side) Hooper Road.
We are so grateful for the many stories my grandparents shared with us throughout the years about Rose’s Kitchen, the incredible meals she cooked for us most Sundays, and both Rose and Michael’s many contributions to our family and the town!
Playhouse kitchen interior.
Fred Cantor adds these details:
In the summer of 1941, the Playhouse Kitchen was included on a couple of occasions in Billboard Magazine’s national “night club” listings of musician performances.
Also Zachary Scott, who appeared alongside Lana Turner and Ronald Reagan in 1940s films, wrote to his family about having his meals at the Playhouse Kitchen when his first job after college in the summer of 1939 was at the Westport Country Playhouse. He said:
Westport itself is a small village right on the Boston Post Road. We eat our meals at the Playhouse Kitchen next door, as both it and the Inn are on property adjoining the theatre. The theatre itself is the most attractive thing you ever saw.
Outside it is a great big red barn. Inside it is mid-Victorian red plush and gilt—-seats several hundred and is modernly equipped.
Fred also says that Paul Robeson seems to have eaten at the Playhouse Kitchen, and/or stayed at the inn, in 1940. That was at a time, Fred says, when “a lot of establishments, even in the North, were still not integrated.”
(If you enjoy our Friday Flashbacks — and/or any other “06880” features — please consider a tax-deductible contribution. Just click here — and thank you!)
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: dwoog@optonline.net. Thanks!)
GET THE “06880” APP
The “06880” app (search for it on the Apple or Android store) is the easiest way to get “06880.” Choose notifications: whenever a new post is published, or once or twice a day. Click here for details.
